APPENDIX. 467 



tude o£ about 3000 feet (scattered pairs may be found lower than 

 this) to the extreme upper limits of tree growth, but most abundantly 

 among the dwarfed, densely-matted spruces and balsams which cover 

 such extensive areas on the upper slopes and ridges of our higher 

 mountains. Here, in an atmosphere always cool and ordinarily satu- 

 rated with moisture from passing clouds, it spends the summer in 

 company with such birds as Swainson's Thrushes, Winter Wrens, 

 Yellow-rumped and Black-poll Warblers, Juncos, White-throated 

 Sparrows, and Yellow-bellied Flycatchers. In many places it is 

 quite as numerous as any of these species, and in certain favored 

 localities it probably outnumbers them all put together. Neverthe- 

 less one may spend hours in its chosen haunts without getting a 

 fair view of a single individual, for, despite (or perhaps really be- 

 cause of) the fact that these solitudes are rarely invaded by man, 

 Bicknell's Thrush is, while breeding, one of the very shyest of our 

 smaller birds. As the intruder advances, forcing his way with diffi- 

 culty through the matted evergreens and stepping with necessary 

 caution to avoid the many hidden holes and crevices among the moss- 

 covered rocks, the birds, which have been singing or calling on every 

 side, become silent, and elude observation so cleverly that often not 

 one of them can be found. The best plan is to select a spot where 

 one has been heard singing, and patiently await its reappearance. 

 It is pretty sure to show itself before long, hopping sedately out into 

 some opening, flitting from place to place among the branches, or, if 

 it be a male, flying to the top of a spruce or balsam to sing or preen 

 its feathers in the sunshine. 



Like most members of its family, Bicknell's Thrush is especially 

 noisy and active in the early morning, or when twilight is falling at 

 evening. At these times, if the weather be still and fine, the songs 

 and calls of numerous individuals may be heard rising from far and 

 near on the mountain-sides, mingling with each other and with the 

 notes of the White-throated Sparrows and Juncos. 



The song is exceedingly like that of the Veery, having the same 

 ringing, flute-like quality; but it is more interrupted, and it ends 

 differently, — the next to the last note dropping a half tone, and the 

 final one rising abruptly and having a sharp emphasis. The ordi- 

 nary calls are a whistled ■pheu practically identical with that of T. 

 fuscesiceiis^ a harsh note which recalls the cry of the Night Hawk, 

 a low cluck much like that of the Hermit Thrush, and 2i pip or 

 peenk similar to that of Swainson's Thrush. The last is rarely 

 heard. 



